Music Choice/Juan NavarroCharlie Puth’s recent singles have been more R&B influenced than his previous work, and he says that’s by design. According to the Grammy-nominated star, his upcoming album, Voicenotes, isn’t just influenced by R&B — it’s influenced by R&B songs that came out during a very specific three-year period.
In an interview with Music Choice, Charlie explains, “When I made this album, I wanted it to be an album, so there’s definitely gonna be a big overall theme of R&B, from that small time period of 1988-1990.”
“Everything Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis did, like, heavily nodding to them, ‘cause I’m very inspired by all the music that came out in that very short time period,” Charlie adds.
Between 1988 and 1990, Jam & Lewis co-wrote and produced hits by New Edition, Janet Jackson, The Time, and Cherrelle, among other acts.
As for what the Voicenotes songs are about, we’ve already heard a few, such as “Attention” and “How Long,” which both seem to be about bad relationships. But in general, Charlie says of the new material, “Lyrically, it’s about my travels from the East Coast to the West Coast and how celebrity has affected me in some ways.”
“There’s also some worldly-type songs on there too,” he adds. “Without, y’know, giving it away completely, there’s some surprises on there.”
Voicenotes, the follow-up to Charlie’s debut Nine Track Mind, is due out May 11.
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